Sports

Tom Hilbert contract screams security

Coach happy to be with Rams for life

By Mike Brohard

Sports Editor

Posted:
08/13/2014 06:46:37 PM MDT

Tom Hilbert

FORT COLLINS — One cannot question the success.

As Tom Hilbert enters his 18th season as the Colorado State volleyball coach, he does so with his Rams having won the past five Mountain West championships, 16 conference titles overall (regular season and tournament title combined). And in that time, he has guided the program to the NCAA Tournament each and every year.

There's also the facts the Rams have been ranked or received votes in the AVCA poll every season, he is one of 10 coaches in NCAA history with 600 wins and a winning percentage of at least .770 (his .773 ranks 15th in history).

He has had nine players earn 13 All-American awards, an additional 21 being named honorable mention.

So when recruits look for a program with success, they look at Colorado State. But Hilbert also knows all that success brings along whispers on the recruiting trail.

If he's had that type of success outside of the five power conferences, how long will it be before one of them swoops in and hires him?

That answer now is clear.

None, and that pleases him.

"I think this makes a statement," Hilbert said of his contract that he signed in March that was announced Monday. "This will be my final resting place."

It's not just the five-year deal for $200,000 annually that either he or the school can start extending in 2016. It is also the $1 million buyout that comes with another school trying to hire him, one he said nobody is ever going to pay.

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And he doesn't want them too, because Hilbert likes what he has built in Fort Collins. Better yet, others now know he will have the freedom to continue that quest.

Volleyball recruiting starts early, and players like to know who they are going to play for when they arrive. Recently, CSU received a commitment for the 2016 class from Arizona setter Katie Oleksak, and when she looked at CSU, she felt good committing because of Hilbert's long track record. Hearing about the contract only made her feel better about her choice.

"It was very important. And I knew that Tom was going to be around for a while, and that's one reason why I chose Colorado State," Oleksak said. "I've heard of a lot of schools where coaches are are moving around, and it's nice to have that comfort level to know he's going to be there when I'm there."

It was a contract Hilbert said he never asked for, even though he had been working under the same deal since 2000. But he is happy with the numbers, and he feels it sends a message to the volleyball community as a whole and what the sport means at Colorado State.

"It hits the $200,000 mark. That's a big number for women's volleyball," he said. "You can go across the country and you're probably not going to find base salaries ... I don't think you'll find at the most five that are higher than that. I'm very pleased in the faith that not only (former athletic director) Jack (Graham) but that (CSU president) Tony Frank has given me and how they respect the sport of volleyball here.

"When you see a contract this size, it's good for our sport. We're not in a big five conference, and I guarantee it will turn the heads of a lot of those coaches who will go to their administrators and say, 'look what's happening in the sport of volleyball.' I think that's a good thing."

He's right. Hilbert is not only the highest-paid coach in the Mountain West, but the fourth-highest paid coach at a public university in terms of base salary. Only the coaches at Nebraska, Texas and Washington exceed him in that regard.

It's a message Hilbert knows will help him in the future on the recruiting trail, and one that puts his current players at ease.

"It's definitely comforting," true freshman Jasmine Hanna said. "Now I know he's going to be here, it's going to be consistent and I'm going to have consistent coaching. You hear about programs where different coaches come in and it's a totally new philosophy, a totally new everything. Some players have a hard time adjusting, so it's comforting."